Kerry Hunter, Photographic Competition Winner: The most beautiful specimen
Special facts about the ‘2 in 1’ mollusk – Gemmula kieneri with Malluvium lissum
Just over 3 months ago, this little member of the Turridae family (sea snails and marine gastropod mollusks) was 97.7m deep under the surface of the ocean in Durban bay. It was then dredged up by the RV Phakisa during the KZN Museum’s Dredging Program, a lot of the apexes of turrid shells unfortunately end up broken during this process, but this specimen ended up on the vessel, intact.
Also known as Gem Turrids, the specimens in the KZN museum’s collection have been found at depths from 55m-170m.
I was once told by one of my mentors that every shell is special and has a story behind it. The story I would tell about this shell is the experience of collecting it aboard the RV Phakisa, the incredible vessel that we were very fortunate to be able to use. The little shell then made the journey to KZN Museum in Pietermaritzburg, where it is now part of Gastropoda collection.
What value does this specimen carry?
The specimen is valuable for its locality data, taxonomic data, and the DNA that we can obtain from the limpets attached to it. The bigger Malluvium lissum (the limpets found on this Gemmula Kieneri) are most likely female while the smaller ones are likely to be male.
If I were forced to keep only specimens from the collection, I would keep the type specimens, though I would have loved to keep this mollusk.
Congratulations Kerry and the KZN Museum team!